We are getting near the holidays and the (online) stores are tossing us around the ears with great gift ideas to purchase for those close to you. One of the things that I like seeing is what other readers recommend to give readers for the holidays. It is fun to see what inspires and pulls everyone. And I am no different in that. For a while I have been wanting to make a list of some great anthologies and what better reason to share this than for a gift guide!

Anthologies I find are great gifts to others. They can be great introductions to a genre or certain authors. People don’t have to commit to a full book to get the story and not to a series at all, even if some stories do fit with some series. In that regard it is even a great gift for those that don’t even read that much.

I am also adding collections by just one author here because I think those kind of fit here too.

With an introduction by Mark Lawrence, author of Prince of Thorns and Red Sister.
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Hidden pasts. Secrets untold. Legends half-remembered. Fifteen fantasy writers gather to bring fifteen tales to life, each one a unique glimpse into a wholly original world.
On the Emerald Road, a dead Sage triggers a brutal trial beneath the forest floor. There, a young man must fight–and kill–both friends and enemies to become the next wielder of the fabled Emerald Blade.
In Midgard, a priestess of humble birth forges a strange bond with an ancient being as she searches for justice in a land that often rewards cruelty, betrayal, and bloodshed.
And in the Yarnsworld, the Magpie King teaches two brothers a dangerous lesson about the power of stories. Sticks and stones may indeed break bones…but they cannot hurt the Bramble Man.
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In worlds ravaged by flood, fire, and frost, mere mortals strive to make their own legends amidst demons and deities a like. And in lands racked with human strife–where evil endures and no one is ever safe–scarred heroes fight forces even darker than their own personal demons.
Why do they fight?
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Some seek to better the world, or themselves. Others are out to right old wrongs. But whatever their goal–reward, redemption, or just respite–the truth will out eventually. For no story is ever truly lost so long as there exists one to tell it.

Why: Free Ebook on Amazon / This way you can sample some work by more unknown authors.

In this exciting collection of noblebright fantasy, fresh new fantasy voices and award-winning authors explore grief and hope, sacrifice and heroism. Rediscover the best aspect of classic fantasy – the noblebright ideals that made heroes heroic, even when the world grew dark around them.
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Thieves, dragons, nightmares, fairy warriors, pookas, enchanted bear-men, and other magical creatures will delight you in these unique tales of possibility, courage, and hope.

Why: Noblebright Fantasy / More lesser known authors in this anthology / Very interesting stories and ideasMy Review

Fantasy fans, rejoice! Seven years after writer and editor Robert Silverberg made publishing history with Legends, his acclaimed anthology of original short novels by some of the greatest writers in fantasy fiction, the long-awaited second volume is here. Legends II picks up where its illustrious predecessor left off. All of the bestselling writers represented in Legends II return to the special universe of the imagination that its author has made famous throughout the world. Whether set before or after events already recounted elsewhere, whether featuring beloved characters or compelling new creations, these masterful short novels are both mesmerizing stand-alones—perfect introductions to the work of their authors—and indispensable additions to the epics on which they are based. Beyond any doubt, Legends II is the fantasy event of the season.

Why: Great novella’s that go with some well known authors series including Neil Gaiman, Robin Hobb and George R. R. Martin. / Perhaps not the best fit as an introduction to these authors I found

Fantasy legend Jane Yolen presents a wide-ranging offering of fractured fairy tales. Yolen fractures the classics to reveal their crystalline secrets, holding them to the light and presenting them entirely transformed; where a spinner of straw into gold becomes a money-changer and the big bad wolf retires to a nursing home. Rediscover the tales you once knew, rewritten and refined for the world we now live in―or a much better version of it.

Why: Combination of fairytale retellings and poems inspired by it / Some of the stories have Jewish main characters / Interest takes on the fairytalesMy Review

A young adult fiction anthology of 15 stories featuring contemporary, historical, and futuristic stories featuring witchy heroines who are diverse in race, class, sexuality, religion, geography, and era..
Are you a good witch or a bad witch?
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Glinda the Good Witch. Elphaba the Wicked Witch. Willow. Sabrina. Gemma Doyle. The Mayfair Witches. Ursula the Sea Witch. Morgan le Fey. The three weird sisters from Macbeth.
History tells us women accused of witchcraft were often outsiders: educated, independent, unmarried, unwilling to fall in line with traditional societal expectations.
Bold. Powerful. Rebellious.
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A bruja’s traditional love spell has unexpected results. A witch’s healing hands begin to take life instead of giving it when she ignores her attraction to a fellow witch. In a terrifying future, women are captured by a cabal of men crying witchcraft and the one true witch among them must fight to free them all. In a desolate past, three orphaned sisters prophesize for a murderous king. Somewhere in the present, a teen girl just wants to kiss a boy without causing a hurricane.
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From good witches to bad witches, to witches who are a bit of both, this is an anthology of diverse witchy tales from a collection of diverse, feminist authors. The collective strength of women working together—magically or mundanely–has long frightened society, to the point that women’s rights are challenged, legislated against, and denied all over the world. Toil & Trouble delves deep into the truly diverse mythology of witchcraft from many cultures and feminist points of view, to create modern and unique tales of witchery that have yet to be explored.

Why: Diversity in sexuality, religion, race and class / Different takes on witches and their powers / All main characters are womenMy Review

Why
This might be my favorite anthology of ever. It is an anthology with asian sci-fi and fantasy and unfortunately never got the buzz that A Thousand Beginnings and Endings.Which is a shame because this anthology has such amazing things to offer. AND a portion of the net revenue will go to help support kid’s phones.

Ooh yes I want to read Toil and Trouble SO much.!! I’m always here for witchy stories and I do love a lot of the authors contributing to that one. I also just got the Unbroken anthology (which is all stories by disabled authors!) and I loooved the Grishaverse one. That was SO perfect. The fairy tales were just fractured enough to be different but familiar. 😍

First off, I LOVE this idea. Prior to this year I had never really read any anthologies but then I read lots of great anthologies this year. Also, it made me SO HAPPY to see Where the Stars Rise as #1 on your list ❤ I loved it as well.

I don’t usually read anthologies, but the other day I read A Thousand Beginnings and Endings and I loved it. There were so many wonderful short stories and all these different genres. Toil and Trouble seems such a great anthology – I can’t resist witches and witchcraft. Adding it to my wishlist.

I don’t read a lot of anthologies, though I have enjoyed them in the past! However, I do think it’s a great gift to give, because it gives people an opportunity to try different authors in a single book. Lovely list of recs!

Ooooh. I *love* anthologies! This is super exciting. Thanks for the tip-off about Lost Lore being free for Kindle! Mwahahaha! I just downloaded it. I love reading anthologies when I’m in a slump because I can read a single story a day. I always feel accomplished doing this.

Welcome to A Dance with Books

I’m Annemieke. A Dutch book blogger who blogs in English. But I’m also a wife and mom. I prefer to read fantasy (adult and young adult) books but sometimes I deviate from that genre a little. Feel free to leave me a comment or contact me through other social media accounts. I always welcome a chat.

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